On 20 January 2025, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) officially launched the “Belt and Road” Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program. The program will run for two years and will end on 19 January 2027. This program is a key initiative by CNIPA to actively implement the achievements of the 10th anniversary of the “Belt and Road” Initiative and presents significant opportunities for foreign enterprises from Belt and Road partner countries that conduct business in China and have demands for Chinese patents.
Main points of the program:
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Participating countries: Applicants from eligible “Belt and Road” countries may file requests for accelerated examination with CNIPA.
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Unidirectional accelerated examination: During the program period, eligible applicants may file requests for accelerated examination with CNIPA. Where a participating office (such as the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office), acting as the office of first filing, considers that at least one or more claims of a patent application are patentable, the applicant may, in respect of the corresponding Chinese patent application of the aforesaid patent application, file a request for accelerated examination with CNIPA. Applicants are not required to pay any additional fees.
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Annual case volume: With respect to the number of cases accepted, CNIPA has established clear limitation rules. The total number of requests for accelerated examination accepted each year will be capped at 1,000, and the number of accelerated examination requests participated in by each participating office will be capped at 100 per year.
The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office is the first institution to participate in this program. Going forward, CNIPA will deepen cooperation with patent examination authorities of more Belt and Road partner countries and will continue to expand and optimize the program.
This program offers significant advantages for foreign enterprises that focus on the Chinese market and have demands for obtaining Chinese patents. By shortening the examination period of patent applications in China, enterprises’ innovative achievements can obtain patent protection more quickly, thereby enabling them to deploy in the Chinese market at a faster pace and gain a first-mover advantage. Furthermore, through cooperation among Belt and Road countries, enterprises can protect their intellectual property rights in the international market more effectively and reduce infringement risks. In addition, this program demonstrates China’s proactive stance on intellectual property protection and its determination to promote intellectual property cooperation among Belt and Road countries, which helps enhance enterprises’ confidence in and willingness to invest in the Chinese market.
We will closely monitor CNIPA’s patent-related policies, assist enterprises in planning their patent filing strategies in advance, and support their global patent portfolio.
